Although choosing our homeschool curriculum is done at the beginning of our homeschool year, we also love adding new curriculum along the way. The reason for this is to change things up, work on new areas and refine skills.

Listen for…

The first page to a letter begins with recognizing the sound that the letter makes. This helps to identify the sound being learned by saying the word for each picture.

This works well for my son because he’s a visual and auditory learner.

I also say the word for the picture accentuating the sound. Once we’ve gone through the pictures, I do it again to make sure there’s understanding and confidence.

Handwriting with the letter sound

Anytime a page involves handwriting, my son resists.

I’ve added handwriting to what we do, but it seems to have to be on my son’s terms right now. He resists and is unwilling to do it if I point out the instructions. A benefit of homeschooling is to take this kind of thing slowly.

So I’m approaching the handwriting portion of Evan-Moor’s Basic Phonics Skills Level B book in a different way. This is in part to keep my son’s attention in learning, but to also prevent him from not wanting to do what I know he can.

How we do handwriting…

When it comes to the handwriting portion, my approach has to be creative. So I get my son to write letters on the whiteboard or chalkboard, he air-writes them, uses bands with a geoboard, or even using teddy bear counters.

We talk about the words we’re seeing and emphasize the letter sound.

When any of the pages are asking to identify if the letter sound is at the beginning or end of a word, this becomes trickier for my son, but a good challenge as he masters his phonics.

Interactive activities

These types of pages my son loves, whether it’s matching, cutting and pasting.

Phonics readers

Although we haven’t gotten to the phonics readers at the back of the book just yet, I’m excited to have him read these little books and know that he is reading and can do it!

A bonus for me!

Tracking my child’s progress is important to me which is why i love the Student Record Form. It allows you to identify and write down the progress of your child. This is why I also like that this book comes in an E-book format.

I was looking for a resource that would supplement and provide extra support in helping my child with phonics and reading. I found that Evan-Moor has a Daily Phonics Grade 1 E-book, and thought it might be a good fit and I was pleasantly surprised!

I had the pleasure of reviewing Evan-Moor’s Daily Phonics Grade 1 E-book in exchange for my honest review.

The Struggle With Reading

My daughter has found reading to be a challenge. Although she can easily tell me individual letter sounds, it’s reading blends and sight words that have been a bit of a struggle.

She’s been so disheartened at times.

I see her lack of self-confidence and the disappointment in herself for just having to work so hard to get what she feels like she should already know.

So to avoid any resentment towards reading, we have slowed right down and chosen to be intentional in what we do to help her read.

How We’re Using Evan-Moor’s Daily Phonics Grade 1 E-Book

Because this is our approach, the e-book works best for us. (The HP Instant Ink subscription has been a life-saver!) I just print out the sheets we need as we go along.

The Pros of the Daily Phonics Grade 1 E-book

Lessons areshort. This made the curriculum approachable for both my daughter and I. With shorter lessons, it also brought quick wins, which is exactly what I was looking for.

You set the speed. Although we could follow the lesson plan (which is daily for 32 weeks and simple to follow), we found that we could also do what worked for us. So we sometimes combined 2 days into 1 or skipped some days if my daughter had the concept mastered.

Lessons are simple to understand. There’s no confusion as to what was being asked of each lesson.

We’re using Teach Your Child To Read in 100 Easy Lessons differently the second time around.
My almost 5-year son has been hungry to learn and shows his readiness by what he’s retaining, so we’ve pulled the book out again.

Check out my *NEW* FREE PRINTABLES below!

(includes sticker chart, letter flashcards & word flashcards)

I was so nervous teaching my first child to read.
To me, reading is THE most crucial subject and I didn’t want to mess this up with my daughter. In my mind, to avoid a disaster meant seeking out a highy recommended book to teach reading. Based on my teaching style, I knew I needed a scripted teaching book to help me! So, Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons became THE book that was recommended. Here is my detailed review when I used it with my first child.

How We’re Using Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons:

My son has begun to start reading 1/2 a year earlier than when my daughter started. This has everything to do with where he’s at, his desire to learn and how naturally it’s coming to him. My son took to learning his uppercase and lowercase letters quite quickly, so now that he’s mastered that, I’ve decided to incorporate reading so I don’t hinder his progress.

What I’m doing differently this time with the book

SLOWER PACE

I’ve already decided that the pace we’re going to go at is much slower, and so far it’s working.
This book might be easy in the sense of the format (the layout, the review, the script, how soon your child will read, etc.), but it’s not necessarily easy for the one who’s learning to read.
My desire is for my kids to read AND like it!
That’s said, we’re not doing a lesson a day. In fact, we’re doing a lesson a day sometimes, and mostly doing a lesson over two days. I’m trusting that this will help build confidence and an enjoyment to read my son.

LOTS OF REVIEW

At such a young age, the ability to sit down for more than the 20 minutes as suggested by the book, is just too much for a wiggler.
We write letters on the blackboard and whiteboard, review letter sounds and words using flashcards (see my free printable below), and we talk about letter sounds as we go about our day. I’ll find that my son just starts recognizing the letter sounds by looking at a word and will begin to sound them out loud. I love this because it becomes the connection between learning and living! When this happens, I’m reminded of what amazing benefits to homeschooling there are.

GET YOUR FREE PRINTABLES

Since we bought a used and older copy of Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons, it didn’t seem to have what I needed. So I created what I needed and I’m offering it FREE for you below when you sign-up to be on my email list. These printables are new and updated since my printables offered here.

Get your *NEW*

Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons

(includes: sticker chart, letter sound flashcards & word flashcards)

Have you taught your child to read successfully using the book Teach Your Child To Read in 100 Easy Lessons?
If so, what were your strategies? If you’re new to using the book, was this helpful? Please share with me in the comments below.

How do you teach a child which letter sound to make when, and why, including how it’s spelled? All About Spelling Level 1 took the mystery out of all these things for my daughter and I. Check out my detailed review to see if this program will be a good fit for your child.